Is it cheaper to book directly with Kashi and Kin?

For a private boat, yes. A private boat for up to 10 people is 4,599 rupees per person booked directly with us. A shared seat is 2,999 rupees per person whichever way you book, so there is no saving on shared seats and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. Booking directly is also the only way to arrange a larger bajra, a specific boarding point, dietary requirements or a group rate.

Can you arrange the rest of the trip around Dev Deepawali?

Yes, and on this night it matters more than usual. Hotels in Varanasi fill well before the boats do and roads close across the old city that evening. We arrange the airport transfer, a private car, a Sathi and a room as one plan.

Dev Deepawali 2026 Tickets, Varanasi | Boat Seats from ₹2,999

Booking

Two ways to book the same evening

It is our boat and our evening either way. The difference is only in how you pay and how much you can shape the night.

Instant · platform ticket

On District

Our evening is listed on District, so if you would rather buy a ticket the way you buy any other event ticket, this is the route.

Card, UPI or netbanking, done in a minute
An instant ticket in the District app
District handle the payment and their own support
Best for a shared seat for one or two people

Book on District ↗

Direct · talk to a person

Straight through us

Message us and you are talking to the people who run the boat. This is the only route for anything that needs a decision rather than a dropdown.

Private boat for up to 10 at ₹4,599 per person
Larger groups and the double-decker bajra, quoted
Choose your boarding ghat where the police allow it
Dietary requirements handled, including Jain
Your car, hotel and airport transfer arranged alongside

Book direct on WhatsApp

Before you book, the two things worth knowing: you can cancel up to 17 November 2026 for a 95% refund, and after that date there is no refund. If the evening is cancelled, or the authorities restrict boating on the river that night, you get everything back. Full booking terms and cancellation policy.

Being straight about the prices: a shared seat is ₹2,999 per person whichever way you book it, so there is no saving to be had there and we would rather tell you than let you hunt for one. The private boat is genuinely cheaper booked directly with us, at ₹4,599 per person for up to 10 people, because we are not paying a platform to process it.

Prices

What a Dev Deepawali boat costs

Per person, for the evening of 24 November 2026. Fixed once confirmed, with no festival surcharge added afterwards.

Option	Who it suits	Per person
Shared boat, per seat	Solo travellers, couples and small families happy to share a small boat with a few others	₹2,999
Private boat, up to 10 Booked directly with us	Families and groups who want the boat to themselves, and the freedom to hold position where they like	₹4,599
Double-decker bajra, and larger groups	Two decks and the best vantage on the river, entirely yours	On request

Every booking includes the licensed boatman, life jackets for everyone, refreshments on board, drinking water throughout, diyas for your own deep-daan, and someone from our team at the boarding point so you are not hunting for your boat in a festival crowd.

On refreshments: you are on the water for around four hours, most of it after dark, and late November on the Ganga is properly cold once the sun goes. Hot tea and something to eat are part of every booking rather than an extra. Tell us beforehand if anyone is vegetarian, Jain, or eating no onion and no garlic.

The evening

What actually happens, and when

The timings below are how the night runs. The exact boarding ghat is confirmed a few days beforehand, because the police restrict river and ghat access differently each year.

4:00–4:30pm, boarding. Deliberately early. Arriving at 5:30pm on this night means a long walk through a crowd and possibly a missed boat.
Around 5:15pm, the lighting. The diyas go up in sequence along the ghats and the riverfront turns from grey stone into a continuous line of light over about twenty minutes. This is the part people remember.
The deep-daan, as families float lamps onto the river. The water fills with them. You will have diyas on board to do the same.
The Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh, performed on a scale reserved for this night.
Fireworks and the laser show later in the evening, across the riverfront.
Until about 9:00pm. On a private boat you decide when the evening ends; on a shared seat the boat returns once the route is done.

Getting there is the hard part, not the boat. Large parts of the old city close to vehicles from the afternoon. A car dropping you "at the ghat" is not a plan. We work out the walking approach in advance and tell you exactly where the car will stop, and your driver takes you there.

Shared or private

Which one you should actually book

Both see the same 84 ghats, the same aarti and the same deep-daan. The view does not cost more. The control does.

Take a shared seat if you are travelling solo or as a couple, you are happy sitting near people you have not met, and a fixed route and return time suits you.
Take a private boat if you are bringing elderly parents or small children, if you want the boatman to hold position off Dashashwamedh through the aarti, or if this evening is the occasion rather than part of a longer trip. Boarding your own boat in a festival crush is a completely different experience from boarding a shared one.
Ask about the bajra if there are more than ten of you. Two decks, and we will quote it properly rather than guess.

What we do not do is put forty to a hundred people on one deck and call it a cruise, which is what most Dev Deepawali boat listings are. Our boats are small on purpose, and on this particular night that is the entire point.

Last year

Filmed and photographed from our own boat · Dev Deepawali last year

This is the view our guests had from our boat last year

The video and pictures below were taken from our own boat, on Dev Deepawali last year, by the guests sitting on it. Not stock photography, not somebody else’s festival, and not a promotional still borrowed from the internet. This is the seat you would have been in.

Filmed from our boat on Dev Deepawali last year. Unedited, and shot on a phone by a guest.

Dev Deepawali diyas lit across the Varanasi ghats, photographed from a Kashi & Kin boat last year — Last year, from our boat · the ghats after the diyas are lit

Ganga Aarti on Dev Deepawali night in Varanasi, seen from a Kashi & Kin boat last year — Last year, from our boat · the aarti from the water

Lamps floating on the Ganga during deep-daan on Dev Deepawali, from a Kashi & Kin boat last year — Last year, from our boat · deep-daan on the river

The lit ghats of Varanasi stretching along the river on Dev Deepawali, from a Kashi & Kin boat last year — Last year, from our boat · the riverfront in one sweep

Our full boat booking page has the rest of last year’s photographs, and more detail on private boats and the bajra.

Before you book

Book earlier than feels necessary

Varanasi has a fixed number of boats and exactly one night of demand for them. That arithmetic does not improve as November gets closer.

Rooms go before boats do. If you have not booked a bed yet, do that first. See where to stay; we can arrange it alongside.
Most people stay two or three days. Nobody flies to Varanasi for one evening. Our packages and airport transfers are built around that.
When a boat is gone, we say it is gone. We will not move you onto somebody else’s crowded deck and hope you do not notice.

Dev Deepawali tickets: common questions

How do I get tickets for Dev Deepawali 2026 in Varanasi?

Two ways, both ours. Our evening is listed on District, where you pay by card or UPI and get an instant platform ticket. Or book directly with us on WhatsApp or by email, which is how to arrange a private boat, a larger bajra, a specific boarding ghat, or anything else that needs a conversation rather than a dropdown.

When is Dev Deepawali 2026?

Tuesday 24 November 2026, the full moon of Kartik Purnima. Diyas are lit across all 84 ghats at dusk and the deep-daan falls in the Pradosh window, roughly 5:08pm to 7:47pm. Boarding is 4:00 to 4:30pm and boats are on the water until about 9:00pm.

Is it cheaper to book directly with Kashi & Kin?

For a private boat, yes: ₹4,599 per person for up to 10 people, booked directly with us. A shared seat is ₹2,999 per person whichever way you book it, so there is no saving on shared seats and we would rather say so plainly. Booking direct is also the only way to arrange a bajra, a specific boarding point, dietary requirements or a group rate.

What is included in the ticket?

The licensed boatman, life jackets for everyone, refreshments on board including hot tea, drinking water throughout, diyas for your own deep-daan, and someone from our team at the boarding point.

What is the difference between a shared seat and a private boat?

A shared seat is one seat on a small boat carrying a handful of other guests who booked the same way, on a route and timing fixed for everybody aboard. A private boat is the whole boat for your group alone, so the boatman holds position where you want and you leave when you wish. Both see exactly the same festival.

Is it safe for families and elderly parents?

Life jackets are provided for everyone and are not optional. Our boatmen are licensed and have worked this night for years. For elderly parents or anyone with limited mobility a private boat is the sensible choice, because boarding is calmer and there is no scramble for seats.

Where does the boat board?

Confirmed a few days beforehand, because the police restrict ghat access differently each year. You get the exact ghat, the meeting point, your boatman’s name and the walking route from where the car stops, all in writing.

Can you arrange the rest of the trip?

Yes, and on this night it matters more than usual. Hotels fill before boats do and roads close across the old city that evening. We arrange the airport transfer, a private car, a Sāthi and a room as one plan.

One night a year, all 84 ghats are lit. We put you on the water for it.